Rosie
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Posts posted by Rosie
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UPDATE: Whelp, it looks like I've been suckered for two months by my 8 yr old! I can hardly believe it. Wow.
We are in Florida, so the weather is just now getting nice enough to stay outdoors for any length of time. The other day she suggested we do math on the driveway with chalk. I said yes. It was unbelievable. I started out with simple multiplication problems for her. She was getting them almost instantly, so I put in some fraction multiplication problems, then some division, then some multiplication with very large numbers. She did them all (struggled a bit with division, though) and begged for me to give her more! At one point she told me, "I'm not going to pretend that I don't know what I'm doing today." WHAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!? SERIOUSLY?!?!? So, I've wasted two months of time and energy trying to figure out what happened to this child's brain when the entire time she was just pretending! Sigh.... She never broke character. Pretty amazing.
Now she keeps asking to do driveway math and saying she LOVES math and when we can't do driveway math she wants me to write out a bunch of really hard problems on paper for her to do. What a trip!!! :)
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Singapore doesn't teach the standard algorithm until 2A. Just do what the HIG says. In 1B, you're only working with mental math when it crosses tens.
Oh, I forgot about that! Yes, don't teach the algorithm yet!!! Just do mental math for now.
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Here's a video explaining that.
I do agree with the others who said it is important for him to understand how to mentally add numbers whose sum is greater than 10 and less than twenty. You can find videos for that here. You actually shouldn't really move forward in addition/subtraction until your child has that down. It is the very basis of the Singapore way.
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Thank you for the replies, everyone! Once again, very helpful!
We are currently on vacation so we're not doing any math probably until next Tuesday. I'll update once I see some changes!!!
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Thank you for the replies, everyone! Hearing your stories helps me feel less stressed about this. I just needed to hear that, yes, this can be normal and we'll get through it. It's been so frustrating, but I'm going to lower my expectations for a while and just do games and review.
Could it be hormonal? Prepubescent brain fog will do that to some kids and girls who start their periods at 9 or 10 would be entering something around 8. Right? Maybe not, it really is a question as I have no dds and have never checked on this.
I don't think it's hormonal (She's still definitely a little girl!), but I'm gonna keep an eye on that. I suppose it's possible!
Her saying she doesn't know why her brain won't work is a bit disconcerting, in so far as it sounds like she herself is confused and troubled. Probably all that is needed is to review and it will all come back. But if it isn't seeming to do so, I'd look for a physical issue even if you think there is none... food or other intolerances can develop so just because there were no changes does not mean definitely no problems ... and just because you have not changed what you do does not mean that a supplier has not changed what they do, so there may be something in some food she gets that didn't used to be in it. Or something like a tick bite might not be noticed, but cause problems. And so forth.
I will watch for this, too. Thank you!
Rosie, I don't really have any words of wisdom, but I cannot tell you how encouraging it was to watch the first video of your daughter that you posted - the multiples video - and realize, wow - I am not the only one whose kid knows her stuff, but it's like pulling teeth to get her to focus on the task and do what I want her to do this very minute!! You are so patient! How inspiring. Thank you.
LOL! Yes, it's hard to get her to focus! And, I wish I were always that patient! It helps when you know hundreds of people are going to be watching what you're doing! I must admit, my patience has seriously been tested with her over the past two weeks. I think I'm going to go read some books about how to parent/teach distractible, ADD, right-brained, VSL children now!
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My nearly 8 year old has always been gifted in math. She always caught on quickly and has always been at least 1-2 years ahead in grade level. But, in addition to that, she just has a natural understanding of numbers. As young as 4 and 5 years old she would come up with ways to do mental math that I hadn't yet taught her and sometimes had never even heard of. I've always been amazed at her number sense.
Well....
We took a month off of doing math this summer and started back up a couple weeks ago. She seems to have completely forgotten everything she's ever learned! She's finished Singapore 2, is in the middle of Miquon yellow, and in Beast Academy 3B. We started up with Beast Academy in the squares chapter where they teach how to square numbers ending in 5 (i.e. 75x75) and, while reading through the guide, she seemed to kinda sorta get it, but by the end of the section said she was confused. So, I backed up, went to the white board, got out the C-rods and had her work out 15x15 with the rods then drawing a picture. It was like she had never seen this before (and she has)! She didn't see that the 5 ten rods were 50. She acted confused about how to tell what the whole amount was when it was right there in front of her - 100 + 50 + 50 + 25. I tried 25x25 and 35x35 the next day with her. Same thing. She was so confused about simple things. We went back to basic multiplication. She couldn't remember much. Things like 4x6, which two years ago she would have figured out in a few seconds by doing 2x6+2x6, she couldn't figure out. She can't do addition/subtraction either. Stuff like 7+8 and 14-9 she was struggling with today.
I know everyone's first inclination is going to be to tell me that she's bored and faking ignorance, and she HAS done that before. We wasted a few months last year because of that, but I honestly don't think that's what's happening here. It just feels different. I don't know....
A bit more info in case it helps: She is a right-brained learner, very visual/spatial, EXTREMELY creative, distractible (wouldn't do well in traditional school!), artistic, loves people.
She normally has distractible moments where her mind is wandering and then, when she comes back, I can see her brain start working and she gets the answer to whatever we're working on. Well, lately, it's been like her brain just won't turn on. Literally. She's been saying she doesn't know why her brain won't work.
No changes in diet. Nothing traumatic has happened. I'm truly at a loss. She's acting like kids I've tutored with dyscalculia, but I KNOW she doesn't have that.
The first three minutes of this video from almost a year and a half ago will give you an idea of her personality. She's the younger one.
In this video (also from over a year ago) she's doing square numbers and addition. It's obvious she knows this stuff.
Any words of advice/wisdom? Maybe I should have her watch through all the videos we made and that will jog her memory? Should I go back to Singapore 1? Just wait it out? Play games like Muggins, etc. for a while until her brain wakes up? Is this normal? Has anyone else's child gone through something similar?
Thank you!!!!
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You might want to look at the long division videos HERE to see how to teach this kinesthetically/visually/concretely. I never understood long division until I actually did this with Cuisenaire Rods many times over.
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Thank you, everyone!
Aimee, can you explain more about why WWS would be too different? Also, what is the typical public school sequence? Wouldn't doing WWS help her even if (or especially because) it differs from the regular school methods/style?
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Thank you!!! And, no, I'm not necessarily looking for evangelical Christian books. We are Christians, but don't only read "Christian" books!
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A friend of mine is considering homeschooling her daughter next year for 7th grade and I'm trying to figure out what LA materials to suggest to her. She isn't sure if she would homeschool more than one year or not. Her dd is coming out of a charter school that they aren't happy with any more. I don't really know anything about how they teach LA except that I know they did a lot of mind mapping in elementary school.
I was thinking of suggesting WWS 1, but I'm not sure if that would be too easy for a 7th grader.
I was also thinking of suggesting MCT Town level, but, again, not sure if that would be too easy, plus it's pretty expensive. We used Island this year, though, and loved it, so that makes me want to share my excitement with her!
I really don't know of any other curricula at this level since my oldest is only 9. Anyone have thoughts or suggestions? (I'll take suggestions for curricula on other subjects, too! I'm just specifically stuck on LA for her.)
Thank you!
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Thank you, everyone!
Anyone else have suggestions???
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What are the best books you've found for preteens and teens that help move them toward independence, teach thinking skills, encourage maturity, give them important knowledge they might otherwise miss, or in any way contribute positively to their lives?
These are some of the books we own that fall within the range of what I'm looking for...
The Fallacy Detective
College Without High School
Do Hard Things
Letters to a Young Mathematician
Richard Maybury books
7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
The Search for Significance, Student Edition
Any other suggestions for me to check out?
Thank you!!!
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Here are my dds favorites:
Sonlight + extra read-alouds
Miquon (the first 4 books - after that it gets harder and they get grumpy!)
Beast Academy
Rosetta Stone
Typing Instructor for Kids
MCT Island level (especially Sentence Island and Music of the Hemispheres)
Bravewriter (especially Tea and Poetry, Keen Observation, and the Communication Game)
Story of the World Audio CDs
Audio books from the library or librivox.org
Educational iPad apps
Gym, Music, and Art class at the local PS
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My oldest is 9. We use a combination of things.
We went through Michael Clay Thompson Island level and now do 2-4 practice sentences per week. We'll move on to Town level after we are done.
She does one of the following per day:
Writing With Ease 3 (we usually do two days worth at a time)
Story Grammar for Elementary School
Write a letter
Write a story
Write a narration about something just read
Do a freewrite (via Bravewriter)
Narrow, expand, and revise (via Bravewriter) something you've previously written.
Copy something from a book, song lyrics, quotes, etc. that you find important into a copybook.
We also do read-alouds and silent reading each day.
No spelling or vocabulary since I don't see the need for it for this particular child. If I saw a need, then we'd probably do Spelling Power and just talk more about words in our read-aloud books.
We spend about 1.5-2 hours on read-alouds and silent reading and anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes on the rest of LA each day.
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This should help:
Yes, memorization is important, but it SHOULD NOT come before full comprehension of concepts is there. It sounds like she's not at that point yet since she isn't transferring her knowledge over to her practice sheets. Cuisenaire Rods help kids to SEE numbers instead of just memorizing symbols.
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I let my 9yo choose which math book to do each day, so if she chooses that book then we read through the intro part of the chapter and then try to get through all 4 levels, if possible. We do most of it orally, but sometimes she works on the white board to figure problems out.
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Understood Betsy (one of my favorites!)
A Little Princess
Ella Enchanted
Mandie series by Lois Gladys Leppard
Rachel Yoder books by Wanda Brunstetter
Mandy by Julie Andrews
The Secret Garden
The Lacemaker and the Princess
Milly-Molly-Mandy
A Treasury of Princesses by Shirley Climo
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Thanks from us as well! DS requested his own Wormy for Christmas. :)
LOL! That is so cute! Unfortunately, I have no idea where Wormy is right now, and if we don't find him before we move then I guess he won't be making any more appearances at Education Unboxed! :glare:
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Oh, my goodness! You all are so welcome!!!
I'm sorry I didn't see this until just now. We're moving across the country in 5 days so I haven't been able to check in very often!
I'm so glad that the videos we made are helping so many people. It makes all the time we spent totally worth it! Eventually we'll get back to making more, but with this big move I can't promise it will be any time soon! Let me know, though if anyone has ideas for more videos! I'll write them down for later!
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Really? I thought he presented everything very clearly.
I bought it a few years back for my mom and when I actually read through it I didn't like it at all. I guess it works for a lot of people, though!
50mm is a good lens but I wouldn't ditch the kit lens. It can come in handy for snapshots where you need a wide angle. Wide angle lens are quite expensive and the kit lens is not that bad. That is, if you have a DSLR, you don't mention it in your post. I had gotten rid of my kit lens and I regret it. Not good for portraits but for regular, quick shots outdoors it is fine.
No, don't ditch the kit lens for good - just while learning! It's best to learn on a prime lens so there are less variables to worry about, plus you can usually get a wider aperture....
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Most people recommend Understanding Exposure, but I didn't find it very helpful. If I were you, I'd google "aperture, shutter speed, ISO, histogram" and that should get you started. You want to learn to shoot in manual mode.
A really quick overview:
Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO each "let in" light. If you take a picture and it's too dark, you need to adjust one of the three to let more light in. Vice versa, if it's too light. If you let more light in with your aperture, you will get a narrower depth of field (area in focus - you'll get more of a blurry background, too) and it may be harder to nail the focus right on the subject's eyes. If you let more light in with your shutter speed, you may get motion blur. (The number for when you'll get motion blur varies depending on your lens length so you'll need to study up on this and test with your lens). If you let more light in with your ISO, you will get more digital noise (grain) in your photo.
I learned at ilovephotography.com, but I haven't been there in years so can't say if it's still as helpful as it used to be.
You will FOR SURE want to get a 50mm 1.8 lens and ditch the kit lens while you're learning. Really. This is important. Get the 50. You'll save yourself a lot of frustration.
HTH!
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Tragically, we are reaching the end of 3C, and the BA people say that 3D is expected to be out in January. January! Which I guess could even mean February (shudder).
Any other guinea pigs looking to fill this gap? Care to share plans? A poster in another thread suggested LoF, but I have not looked closely at this yet. We went through SM3A before jumping to BA, FWIW.
We're doing Primary Grade Challenge Math and Singapore 3B textbook along with the CWP 3 book. If we still need more we'll do Math Mammoth Blue Fractions books, Khan Academy, and Crewton Ramone videos. We may even go on to Singapore 4A... not sure.
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Thank you for the suggestions, everyone!
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I would suggest Math Mammoth Blue Fractions books and these videos that my daughters and I made this year. They are for you to watch and then use those methods to teach your child. It is hands-on and, if you already own Cuisenaire Rods or MUS blocks, free.
We haven't done many decimals videos yet, but there are a lot of fractions videos already up and, IMO, that is more important to understand because decimals ARE fractions.
My child has forgotten nearly everything she ever learned in math! Need advice.....
in Accelerated Learner Board
Posted
Hi, everyone. Sorry I didn't get back to this right away. My dad passed away, we traveled to Michigan for the memorial, and we're just getting back into the swing of things with school.
Yes, I talked with her about what she did. No, I'm not giving any specific consequences because I'm not convinced that she fully realized what she was doing. On some level, of course she did, but with how consistently she stayed in character.... she's not a good enough actress to pull that off without truly believing it. So, I'm viewing this as an opportunity to help her learn more about herself, to train her character.... in perseverance, honesty, patience, etc. We will be having lots of talks in the future about this. It's not as if I'm just letting it go.... especially because she keeps trying it! LOL! Tuesday she acted all overwhelmed, like she couldn't do the Challenging Word Problems I was having her do, then yesterday she flew through the same kinds of problems. It's like she gets stuck in a specific mindset and can't get out. I don't know. So that's where we're at... for better or worse....